ThingLink in Canvas

Last modified: April 7, 2022

Overview

ThingLink enables users to annotate still photos, videos, and 360 media to create interactive digital environments. ThingLink can support  virtual interactive tours of classrooms, museums, sites abroad, or university campuses. ThingLinks can also be used to visualize processes, changes over time, differences across locations, or data within a group.

While there is an LTI with Canvas, there is limited interaction between the two tools. The ThingLink option on the Canvas menu bar will take the user to ThingLink where an account will automatically be generated for them, if one does not already exist. In addition, faculty can use the external tool option within Assignments in Canvas to link ThingLink assignments to a Canvas course (see below). Please note, however, that this assignment link will only link to ThingLink in general. Students will still need to navigate to the appropriate course and assignment.

Get Started

  1. Log into Canvas and use the ThingLink menu option to log into ThingLink.
  2. After logging in, you can create a course and assignments in ThingLink that students will access via Canvas.
  3. When a course is created through Canvas, a join code will be generated that is listed next to the Test Course title. Share this code with students to help them join the course once they have logged in to ThingLink.

NOTE: If you have an existing ThingLink account using your Middlebury email but want to use the integrated version of ThingLink in Canvas, you will need to change the email account associated with your external ThingLink account to a non-Midd email before trying to create a Canvas ThingLink assignment using the ThingLink LTI.

1. Log into your Canvas course and navigate to the section of the course where you want to add the ThingLink assignment.

2. Click Add Assignment and on the Submission Type menu, select Choose an External Tool. Search for ThingLink, or scroll to ThingLink in the list, and select it. Be sure to select Load This Tool in a New Tab.

3. Select the ThingLink you want to associate with the Assignment and click Save or Save & Publish.

You can also embed ThingLinks in Canvas without creating an Assignment. Follow the instructions on how to embed ThingLinks directly onto Canvas pages.

Important Note: If students are being asked to annotate an existing file, they will want to clone that file to submit the assignment. Students can do this by visiting the assignment, clicking on the media item, and then clicking the three dots in the upper right hand corner of the screen, and selecting “Clone”. They should then select the “Start Editing” button to begin annotating the cloned media item. From there students can tag the file appropriately and click Done to finish their work.

Need help?

For technical support, submit a ticket with ThingLink.

For pedagogical support for ThingLink in Canvas, schedule a consultation with a DLINQ team member.

External Resources